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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. clip — to cut
  4. suit — clothes
  5. lean — to bend
  6. fall — to drop
  7. shower — rain
  8. suit — in cards
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. fall — to drop
  12. charge — a price
  13. suit — to fit
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bass — low music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. fall — the season
  19. bass — the fish
  20. clip — a video
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. charge — electricity
  23. lean — thin
  24. charge — in control

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com